My deep-dive through Christmas ephemera continues! Today let’s take a look back at The 1968 Dean Martin Christmas Special. It’s a delightful time capsule of the popular culture during the holidays in the late 60’s. Launched in 1965, The Dean Martin Show comedy-variety show capitalized on Dean’s reputation as a world-class boozehound. Throughout the show’s run Dean Martin  often had cigarette in hand, slurring his words slightly as if he’d just come from the bar, making fun of the fact that he had missed rehearsals. He also had a habit of shamelessly flirting with every woman on the show. It’s behavior that today would get any man slapped (across the face and/or with a lawsuit.)

The 1968 Dean Martin Christmas Special is peak Dino, and is totally indicative of the overall vibe of the show. Dean stumbling through hacky skits and songs, with popular entertainers of the day as guests. The show had a slightly tossed-off feel to it that only Dean Martin could pull off. His droll, self-deprecating demeanor and often improvised lines gave the show a loose, laid-back feel that is fun to watch from a 50 year distance.  It’s a look at times that we can nostalgically call “simpler times,” though 1968 was in reality one of the darkest, most troubling years in our country’s history.

Christmas, 1968 Style

This is how I imagine it…Older Americans (Dean Martin was way too square for the kids) in December 1968…They pour themselves a cocktail or two, kick back after a long hard day of work. After taking in the horrible news of the day in the paper or from Walter Cronkite, let Dean Martin take them away from the strife of the real world for an hour.

This TV special is a warm look at how the holidays looked to our parents and grandparents. TV just isn’t like this anymore. What we do have are recordings of the sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always entertaining variety shows of the past…So join Dean Martin and get into the spirit(s) with The 1968 Dean Martin Christmas Special, featuring guests Bob Newhart, Dom Deluise, Denis Weaver, and Dean’s very own all-female vocal group The Golddiggers celebrating the season 1968-style, in living color on NBC. Cheers!

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